A Flaming Fairy
by otaku6652
Summary: After the fight at the Tower of Heaven, Natsu vows to get stronger and protect those he cares about. A great danger is coming and the drama with Jellal is not over yet, the battles and events from each chapter will lead to an immense final battle as all the strings are connected.
1. Prologue

"Natsu, take care of her." Simon's words ran through his head again and again as Natsu gaped at what he had just done. Simon, not him, had leapt in front of

Erza to shield her from Jellal's Altairis. Pure rage filled Natsu, he was supposed to protect her, Simon wasn't supposed to die, ERZA WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO

CRY! "How pathetic, now that's dying in vain Simon. No one here will leave this tower alive." "Shut the fuck up!" Natsu yelled and punched the bastard in the

face as hard as he could. Not thinking clearly, he tore off a chunk of Etherion with his teeth and attempted to absorb the magic energy. Ignoring Erza's screams

and Jellal's ridicule, Natsu swallowed and felt the raw power burning through his body. It hurt like hell and forced him to choke, but Natsu refused to give in;

gradually, his body accepted and took in the substance. "It's all because of you! You're the one who made Erza cry!" Natsu wasn't about to let Simon's sacrifice

go to waste, nor was he going to sit by and let everything he cared for be destroyed. Activating Meteor, Jellal flew up to evade Natsu "You'll never match my

speed". Natsu jumped onto the falling pieces of Etherion rock and emitted a white hot flame from his body, sending a fist to Jellal's stomach. "Impossible, I will

not be destroyed! I will create a land of absolute freedom. Zeref called to me through the pain and fear, I am the chosen one and together we will do just

that!" "Like hell you can do that by stealing other people's freedom!" Natsu dodged Jellal's waves of heavenly magic and looked up in shock at the newly

drawn magic circle. "Abyss Break? Are you going to destroy the whole tower?!" Erza cried. "I can build another one, wait a little longer, Zeref." His spell was cut

short with a slash; Erza had drawn her sword and charged at him. "You're never gonna find freedom when tied up by a ghost!" Natsu said and flew toward

Jellal, sending the final blow with as much force as he could muster. The tower shook and crumbled as Jellal slammed onto the ground, unconscious. "So this is

Natsu's true power", Erza thought as she watched him emerge victorious. Natsu fell to his knees with exhaustion when he was suddenly engulfed in a warm

hug. Raising his eyes, he saw Erza's sweet face looking down upon him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. However, their moment was cut short when

Erza realized that the tower was going to explode from the buildup of magic power. Blinking away tears, she reached out and once again fused with the

lacrima, preparing to contain the explosion and save Natsu. "By sacrificing myself, I can save everyone. Fairy Tail, my friends, they are everything to me. I

cannot imagine a world without them and if this works then I will have no regret." "NO! ERZA!" Natsu pounded on the lacrima with tears running down his face.

"I will always be beside you." Erza said softly as she felt her vision darken.

* * *

_It is a dark, rainy day as the members of Fairy Tail gather around Erza Scarlet's grave. "Erza Scarlet was a strong, courageous woman. She was one of my children and_

_ I love her" Makarov choked out before succumbing to his tears. Lucy sobbed into Gray's shoulder and for once Juvia did not complain. The Magic Council arrived and _

_awarded Erza a spot on the Ten Wizard Saints, but at that time none of the people there cared, they just stood in pain at the loss of a dear friend. A bouquet of roses_

_ lied at the foot of a statue of a knight, Erza's tombstone. A certain fire dragon slayer had not been seen until now, barging in with anger written on his face. "Erza is _

_not dead, she can't be!" Natsu screamed over and over as several wizards held him down. Erza watched this scene from the sky, covering her mouth with her hands. _

_"It shouldn't have been like this, I wanted to save them" she thought as Erza struggled to keep from breaking down and weeping._

* * *

Slowly, Erza began to wake up from her nightmare. Opening her eyes, she gasped and saw Natsu standing while carrying her in his arms. Without warning, he

dropped to his knees and held Erza close to his body "Don't ever do that again". Erza could only nod and rest her head on his chest, breathing him in. The two

neared the beach where the others were and Erza immediately ran up to give Lucy a hug. After many tearful goodbyes to Shu, Milliana, and Wally, life began to

resume its normal pace for everyone. Well, everyone except Natsu.

Natsu was mad at himself for not protecting Erza better, for letting her nearly die at the hands of a lacrima, but most of all he was extremely vengeful of Jellal

and how he hurt Erza. He didn't understand, from what Erza had told them Jellal had been her nakama, but he hurt her so how could he be her nakama?

Vowing to get stronger, Natsu tacked up a picture of the notorious man on his wall to motivate him, training straight for twelve hours until Happy yelled at him

to stop. "I will be more powerful and I will protect those close to me", Natsu thought as he climbed into bed without even eating, a highly unheard of feat.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Ohayo, Natsu. Can I get you something to drink?" Mirajane politely inquired, smiling at the tired looking Natsu. "A large cup of fire, I was up late training"

Natsu hungrily gulped down the flames and got up, walking towards the job request board. "I know, I know, I'm sorry guys but the celestial spirit king

contacted me and said there was trouble. I asked Loke and he told me it was serious, I'm afraid I don't have a choice." Natsu overheard Lucy talking with Erza

and Gray and walked over, "What's going on? I just found the perfect quest for us." "There's a problem going on in the celestial spirit world and Lucy was

asked to go help, we don't know how long it's going to take." Gray quickly explained. "Wait!" Erza interrupted, "Time in the celestial spirit world is warped, one

day there was three months here. If there is an issue going on there and Lucy stays for a couple of days, it will amount to a year!" Lucy looked down,

saddened by this revelation. "I really wish there was another way to deal with this, but it's my duty as a celestial spirit mage! Minna, I will greatly miss you

even though it won't seem long to me." A flash of light came up and Loke appeared, "It's time to go, princess." With a bittersweet smile, Lucy held onto Loke

and left in another flash of light. It took a few minutes for everyone to take in the shock at their friend's sudden departure; Natsu was the first to speak "Now

what? We're short a member." Blinking, Erza suddenly had a mischievous idea "Nee, Gray, why don't you invite _Juvia_? I'm sure she'd love to join us." Slightly

red, Gray walked over to Juvia and began talking to her. Without warning, the guild was flooded with tears as Juvia cried, "GRAY-SAMA! Juvia has prayed for

this day to come, she is just so happy!" "I guess that's a yes, now what quest did you pick out?" Erza asked. "The reward is 2 million jewels! We are supposed

to slay an ancient wyvern at Mt. Hakobe; it seems easy but the flyer says that the wyvern was strange mutational powers, creepy huh?" Natsu excited

exclaimed, "I bet it's a demon possessing it!" Erza chuckled lightly at the dragonslayer's energetic youthfulness. The team soon set out and headed towards

the train station.

* * *

"Uggghhhhh Erzaaaaa I'm gonna puuuuke, I told you we should have waaaaalkeed." Erza was getting annoyed and desperately wanted some peace, "Would

you like to sleep on my lap?" Flushing, Natsu laid his head onto her thighs and soon felt himself drifting into a deep sleep. Noticing his blush, Happy purred "He

liiiiiiiiikes her." After what seemed like days the train came to a stop at a town near the mountain. Erza was the first to wake up and smiled at the sight before

her, Juvia was calmly resting on Gray's chest while Gray had his head on hers. The pair looked so cute that Erza could not help but snap a few pictures;

Mirajane would go crazy over them when she got back. Unfortunately, they both woke up and leapt apart, their cheeks tinged with pink. Erza, disappointed,

stood up and Natsu fell on the ground, immediately waking up. Rubbing his head and grumbling, Natsu led the group into the town. "It's getting late so we

should check into a hotel." As they walked in, a handsome employee walked over and offered to carry the girl's bags into their rooms. A twinge of jealousy

came over Gray as he noticed Juvia smiling at the man, Natsu on the other hand was too busy laughing at his face when Erza dropped a motherload of luggage

of him. "Much obliged, sir. Now we are on the top floor so make sure you don't drop anything!" Erza said and slapped the poor boy on his back with an armor

covered hand, sending him crashing into a long flight of stairs.

After a night's sleep, the team began their journey up the mountain. "This is nice, having Juvia here. No whining about the cold and I don't have to worry about

her getting hurt." thought Erza as they trudged through the heavy snow. The piercing shrieks of a wyvern could be heard as they reached the top; it seemed

to be coming from a large cave. Natsu boldly ran in and stepped back, shocked at the size of the monster. The wyvern was at least 50 feet tall, with white

scales covering its body and a long tail. The strange thing about it was its fangs, two long canines protruded from the mouth, foaming and glistening in the

light. With a loud roar, it charged in at Natsu. **Fire Dragon's Roar!** Natsu puffed up his cheeks and sent a heavy flame towards the wyvern, its scales were

hardly even scratched. **Requip: Fire Empress Armor!** Erza produced two swords and jumped up, slashing and swinging at its arms. **Ice Make: Saucer! Water**

** Nebula!** The four attacked again and again, yet the wyvern showed very little signs of damage. One of Gray's ice spikes struck the wyvern on its forehead, dark

blood spurted out and it shrieked in pain. "The head! Everyone aim at its head, it seems to be its weak spot!" With a mighty swing, the wyvern slammed Gray

into the cave wall with its arms where he slid down, unconscious. "Gray-sama!" Outraged, Juvia hit the monster with increasing speed and strength. **Water**

** Slicers! Water Jigsaw! **The wyvern staggered as she delivered attack after attack. **SIERRA!** Juvia morphed into water and whacked herself against its head.

The wyvern grabbed her with its claws and squeezed hard enough to break ribs; Erza winced as she heard bones crack. "Let. Her. GO!" she bellowed while

jumping up and wedging one of her swords into a chink in the wyverns scales. Screeching, the wyvern dropped Juvia where she tumbled onto the floor like a

broken doll. "Natsu, now!" Natsu prepared to strike while it was distracted, **Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!** The wyvern moaned and collapsed while Erza sent

one final blow. Breathing hard, Natsu said "Is it over? I honestly expected more." Triumphant and a little confused, Natsu and Erza went over to check on Gray

and Juvia. While shoving Gray to his feet, Natsu was alarmed when Erza suddenly screamed in pain. He turned around to see the wyvern sinking its fang deep

into Erza's side; evidently the fight was _not _over. Erza's knees buckled and Gray, now awake, ran over to catch her. Examining the wound, he declared "it

seems to be poison, highly unheard of for a wyvern. I don't know how this is possible or if there is a cure, we have to take her to Porlyusica." The wyvern got

back up swiped at Gray; he just managed to move out of the way in time with Erza in his arms. Now very ticked off, Natsu unleashed a fury of attacks. **Fire**

** Dragon's Sword Horn! Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow!** Setting Erza down next to Juvia, Gray prepared to fight. **Ice Make: Geyser!** A large shard of ice erupted

from the ground and sent the wyvern flying into the cave ceiling. Though it looked weakened, the monster still stood up and screeched. "Damn it! What's it

going to take to kill this thing!" "It's clearly not a normal wyvern, I'm surprised this wasn't classified as an S-class quest." The wyvern swung its long, heavy tail,

sending Gray and Natsu flying onto the ground. "Stand back, I'm going to try to finish this with my lighting empress armor; an electrocution to the heart should

do the trick." Erza heaved herself up with some difficulty and requipped, setting her aim on the wyvern's chest. "Wait Erza! You're injured, you shouldn't fight or

the poison will spread faster!" Erza smiled at Gray's protests and said "A little scratch isn't going to stop me, I will protect you guys." **Lightning Beam!** Despite

the blood flowing from her wound, Erza flew up and struck the wyvern with all the strength she had left. "ERZA!" Natsu rushed forward and caught her as the

girl fell from the air, armor disintegrating and leaving her in her normal clothes. "t-there, the w-w-wyvern is g-gone now." Erza gasped as she lost

consciousness with a rattling breath. Helping Juvia to her feet, Gray stared worriedly at her. "Gray-sama, what did I miss? Is Erza alright?" "I-I don't know."

Gray muttered, "Are you okay, can you walk? Of course you can't" Gray placed Juvia on his back and lifted her up with his hands, following Natsu who was

already out of the cave. "Oi, Natsu. Don't walk so fast, you'll cause Erza to lose more blood. Natsu! Are you listening, Natsu!" Natsu didn't hear a word Gray

said, the only thing he could focus on was that he failed again. He failed at protecting her. Erza. ERZA! Natsu began to run, leaving an indignant Gray behind as

he rushed to get back home where Wendy could heal her, not noticing a low rumbling sound. "NATSU! STOP! There's an avalan-"

* * *

When Natsu awoke, he found that he was lying in a small cave on the side of a mountain with a heavy layer of snow and ice sealing the entrance. He looked

down to find Erza in his arms, pale and trembling from hypothermia, blood loss, and poison. Natsu quickly pulled off his scarf and vest, draping it on her body;

he then lit at small fire with some scrap pieces of wood lying around and examined the exit. He burned a small hole in the snow and looked outside, a strong

blizzard was howling and blowing "It might be best to stay in here where it's at least safe." Natsu sat down by the fire, drawing Erza close to him and listening

to the wind; he soon found himself falling asleep.

* * *

Ok so I'm thinking about doing a separate plot about Lucy and the drama in the Celestial Spirit World, I'm not sure if I should deviate from the main plot. Also, it will take longer to update if I do so I'll ask your opinions. Warning: if I do then it will NOT be LoLu, gomen but I ship Lories.


	3. Chapter 2

"Damn that Natsu, always getting into trouble. Now how the hell are we going to find them?" Gray and Juvia were currently searching the mountain through

the heavy blizzard in hopes of finding their friends. "Don't worry too much Gray-sama, I'm sure Natsu will find a way out if they are trapped or lost. Juvia is

mostly confused as to why the wyvern had poisonous fangs, it's unnatural and there's no way it could have simply been a mutation." Cursing Natsu and

mumbling to himself, Gray was sweeping some snow out of the way when he noticed something strange buried near the wyvern cave. "This looks look some

sort of diary entry or patient record, what on earth is it doing here?" Juvia walked over and took the paper, reading aloud "_Day two: number 4 is showing signs_

_ of progress. the injection appears to have worked, expecting results soon. _What could that mean?" Gray pocketed the paper and continued to look for Natsu and

Erza "Let's not focus on it now, we need to hurry up and find those two."

* * *

Natsu awoke to the sound of someone yelping in pain "Erza? What are you doing? Are you okay?" Erza was gasping and clutching her side, leaning against the

cave wall next to a partially cleared exit. "I was trying to get us out of here, blizzard or not we have to meet up with the others and-" She was stopped when

Natsu lifted her up bridal style and sent a fireball crashing through the snow "Baka, you should have woken me." With some effort since they were both low on

magic power, the wall of ice and snow melted away and they were able to escape. "Let's go look for Gray and Juvia." Natsu nodded and headed up the

mountain. "Um you can put me down now Natsu." "No way in hell, you can barely stand and that poison isn't going to go away." Erza sighed at the

dragonslayer's stubbornness and secretly smiled to herself at his insistence. Natsu was walking around the cave when they heard Gray's voice and headed

towards the sound. "Thank goodness! Juvia was so worried about Natsu and Erza, let's go back to the town and see if there is a doctor who can help Erza."

Luckily for them, there happened to be a traveling shaman who specialized in rare poisons at their hotel and was willingly to help them free of charge. "This is

certainly interesting, I have never heard of a wyvern with fangs. Would you allow me to take a sample of her blood for study if I drop the fee?" Gray shrugged

and agreed, why not? After a few minutes, the shaman finished and spoke "The girl is going to be fine, she just needs some rest." Natsu breathed a sigh of

relief and ran over to Erza "Next time I'll protect you and the others better for sure!" with his signature toothy grin.

* * *

BAM! The doors to the guild flew open and the group strode in, ready to relax and recover from the strenuous mission. The scene inside horrified them:

everything was thrown apart and destroyed, the smell of blood filled the air, and everyone looked injured and exhausted. Erza immediately went over to

Mirajane, who was clutching an ice bag to her head and crying "What the hell happened here, Mira?"

* * *

Short chapter, a few new clues


	4. Chapter 3

"G-giant sea serpents with talons and wings rampaged through the guild and stole a centrifuge from the supply room. I have no idea why they would want

something like that, the thing's been sitting there for years, leftover from when Levy tried to build a time machine." Confusion ran through Erza's mind, since

when did sea serpents have _talons_ and who the hell would steal a _centrifuge_? Natsu was not one to sit still "How dare these people mess with Fairy Tail?! I'm

gonna march over and burn the place down!" "Hold on, flame brain. We don't even know where they are." "Well we can't just do nothing, ice princess!"

"Wanna go, fire head?" "Hell yeah, ice head!" "ENOUGH!" Everyone backed away and cringed at Erza's booming voice. "You said they were sea serpents? Then

the most logical place to search would be the harbor, as it is the closest large body of water." The team was about to leave when Master Makarov stood up

and yelled "Alright brats, someone was dumb enough to hurt my children and steal from us! When the monsters were leaving, Cana placed a tracking card on

each one; I will divide up what's left of you and send each team to a different location." Murmurs and whispers ran through the crowd, too many were hurt

and unable to fight, whatever those serpents were, they were crazy powerful and meant business. "The first team: Gray, Cana, and Lisanna; you will be

explore the Darkwood forest! The second team: Natsu, Erza, and Wendy; you will be crossing the Calidum Desert! The third team: Mirajane, Elfman, and Laxus;

you will head to Mount Petra! The fourth team: Gajeel, Levy, Juvia; you will be sailing towards Malstorm Island!" Shouts of excitement could be heard as

Makarov announced the teams "Mountains are MAN!" "Juvia does not want to be separated from Gray-sama!" "Why the hell am I participating?!" "SILENCE!

Teams are final, now go!"

* * *

"I can see why it's called 'Darkwood'" Lisanna shivered and glanced around at the sepulchral forest, even in broad daylight a dark gloominess was cast over it.

So far, they had found nothing of interest, just trees and twigs. But as they ventured deeper and deeper, no one could deny how creepy it was getting. Cana

stomped over a dead stump, annoyed that her alcohol supply was running low, when she saw a giant bald rat with extremely long nails and violently twitching.

Stumbling back in fear, she felt herself falling and screamed.

* * *

The heat was torturing, even Natsu admitted it was a bit warm for his liking. Erza immediately requipped into a black bikini top and shorts, causing Natsu to

fervently blush; Wendy was attempting to fan herself using bits of wind magic. It was not working. Natsu's sharp sense alerted him that a sand storm was

coming and the three ran for cover behind a small patch of Palm trees, it was not much but it would have to do until the storm passed. Resembling an over-

sized tornado on steroids and crack, the storm swirled sand at insane speeds, pelting the group and making it difficult to breath. Natsu took off his scarf and

shared it with the others to help cover up their noses and mouths, the three huddled together and waited for what seemed like an eternity until the storm

finally died down. Coughing and rising from the ground, Erza stared at the large crater the storm had created. Natsu skidded down the slope and carefully

examined the bottom to find a small trapdoor, cleverly disguised as sand.

* * *

Climbing up the rocky, uneven mountain side proved to be very difficult. "Mountains are not that man after all." Elfman was rather disappointed at how long this

was taking. "Nee-chan, are you crying?" Mirajane choked back a sob and tearfully said "I thought this would be excellent bonding time for us and Laxus after

what happened with the fighting festival, but no one has exchanged a single word until now!" Rolling his eyes at Mirajane's oversensitivity and melodramatic

cries, Laxus continued walking without responding. _SCREECH!_ An overly furry goat with a sharp birds beak kicked a round boulder down the mountain. "That

little fuck!" Laxus cursed and jumped out of the way, clinging onto a large root. Smiling evilly, the goat spat at Elfman's hair and purposely knocked over some

large rocks to obstruct the path before running away.

* * *

Sipping a fruit smoothie, Levy turned another page of her book and looked over at Gajeel, who was talking to Juvia. She couldn't help but feel a bit sad, he had

pretty much ignored her since they boarded the ship. "Juvia thinks you should be kinder to the rest of the guild, we are lucky that they accepted us after the

war with Phantom Lord." "You, they accepted you. I don't really give a shit as to what the others think of me." Before she could respond, Juvia felt the boat

rock and splinter beneath her feet; alarge tentacle rose out of the water and cracked the boat in half. Gajeel quickly went and threw Levy over his shoulder,

leaping onto a floating piece of scrap wood while Juvia stood on the water and got into a defensive stance. An abnormally large, deformed octopus with spikes

jutting out of its legs grabbed the pieces of the boat and tossed them away before diving back down into the water. **Water Bubbles!** "Juvia thinks we should

follow the beast."


	5. Chapter 4

Slowly, Cana opened her eyes and sat up, a sharp pain shooting through her head. "Fuck…where am I?" Rubbing her wrist, she turned her head and nearly

threw up her wine. Cana was sitting in an eerie, dirty pit scattered with bones; the stench was unbearable. **Ice Make: Slide! **To her relief, Gray and Lisanna

came quickly to her side. Lisanna's eyes widened at the sight of the bones and dropped to her knees "I-I recognize those bones. They belong to animals…but

why are they so mutated and deformed?" Gray crouched down and examined one of the skulls "This is probably some sort of burial pit, we shouldn't stay here

long, I'm getting a really bad feeling about this place." A loud crash towards the left caused all three to jump in the air in fright; Cana squinted and noticed a

small tunnel from where the sound was coming from. "Um it might be best to stay away from strange sounds in creepy tunnels, I'm going to try and get out."

**Animal Soul: Wings!** Lisanna attempted to fly up and out of the pit when a heavy iron door slammed shut and locked her in. **Explosion Cards!** The spell had

absolutely no effect on the door, ricocheting around the room. "I guess we're stuck in here. We might as well follow the sound; it might lead us to another

exit."

* * *

"Cool, a trapdoor! Let's bust it open and look inside!" Natsu summoned a fist of fire, ready to strike the door and barge in. "Hold on Natsu, yes it is intriguing

but we need to keep moving." "But Erza, I really wanna see what's in it!" Within two seconds, Erza pinned Natsu on the ground and pointed a sword at his

throat "We have a quest to complete." "Aye sir!" Disappointed, Natsu crossed his arms and sullenly followed Erza and Wendy. "Cheer up, Natsu-san. Maybe

we will find something else." Wendy patted the dragonslayer on his back, even though she was a little let down herself. Suddenly, she felt a large, cold claw

wrap around her waist and before she knew it Wendy was lifted into the air and taken away by a… "Scorpion with wings and claws?!" Natsu stared,

dumfounded by the creature. **Requip: Black Wing Armor! **"Don't just stand there Natsu!" Erza flew up and swung her sword at the scorpion's head,

momentarily distracted, it let go of Wendy and drew out a stinger. The scorpion's stinger shot towards Erza, its razor sharp edges glistening and throbbing for

flesh. Leaping out of the way, Erza went above it and stabbed its back with her sword. After quickly catching Wendy, Natsu used the opportunity to attack the

scorpion. **Fire Dragon's Wing Attack! **With one wing burnt and damaged, the scorpion dropped to the ground and released three more stingers. "Watch out

Natsu-san!" **Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang! **Wendy sent a vortex of air at a stinger that was about to latch onto Natsu; to her horror, when the stinger was cut

off, two more grew in its place. "Arigato, Wendy! But how are we going to stop this thing if it keeps regenerating the stingers?" **Requip: Flame Empress**

** Armor!** "I've seen something like this in one of Levy's myth books before. We need to cauterize the stumps right after we cut off a stinger." A wide smile

spread across Natsu's face "I don't know what cauterize means, but if fire is involved then I'm the man for the job!" Erza sliced through three stingers at once

and yelled "Now, Natsu!" **Fire Dragon's Roar!** Before the scorpion could produce another stinger, Natsu's flames sealed the end off and prevented further

growth. Hissing in rage, the scorpion summoned 50 more stingers and aimed them all at Natsu. "Oh no you don't!" Leaping in front of him, Erza slashed into

half of them and sent a wave of fire with her blade while Natsu jumped out of the way. **Sky Dragon's Claw!** **Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame! **The three hacked,

ripped, and burned away all the stingers using a considerable amount of magic power; they were exhausted, but triumphant in their victory. "Thissss isssn't

over, foolsssss." The scorpion narrowed its eyes and burrowed into the sand, leaving no traces behind. "Erza-san, did that scorpion just talk?" Erza sighed,

unsure of what to do, and looked at the trapdoor that they abandoned. Following her gaze, Natsu's face lit up "So does this mean we can go see what's under

it?" "I guess so, since it's the only lead we have right now." Natsu pumped his fists in excitement and ran over to the door; without pausing he blew it open

and jumped in. "I swear to god that boy is so rash and impetuous." Erza rolled her eyes and hopped in as well; giggling to herself about how silly Natsu was,

Wendy carefully climbed in. As soon as they entered, a foul, rancid odor met their noses. Gagging and coughing, Wendy breathed in some and fainted; polluted

air is bad for sky dragonslayers. Trying not to breath through his nose, Natsu gently placed her on his back and walked forward. It was unlit and very hard to

see, so Erza grabbed his hand; Natsu was glad that it was too dark for her to see him turn red at her touch. Cautiously moving forward, Natsu's foot caught on

something hard, causing a resounding crashing sound. "Watch where you're going, Natsu!" Erza whispered to him before bumping into something hard.

Terrified, she slowly turned around to see…Gray. "Erza?" "Gray?" "What are you doing here?" They said at the same time. "Cana fell into this pit and some sort

of magic proof gate blocked our exit, we heard a sound coming from here so we followed it. What about you guys, shouldn't you be in the desert?" "We were,

but then this scorpion thing attacked us and there was a trapdoor so we decided to enter." After some quick explanations, Lisanna told them about the piles of

bones over on the other side; Natsu immediately wanted to see them. "Ugh, the smell is even worse here, I think I'm going to be sick. Just hurry up so we can

get out of here." Natsu looked around, fascinated by all these strange skulls when he noticed a small piece of parchment sticking out from behind a leg bone.

"Hey guys, I found a piece of paper!" Gray's eyes widened when he saw it, pulling out the paper he took from Mt Hakobe, he compared the two. "This was

written on the same type of paper and with the same handwriting, but why are they in such different places?" Curious, Erza read the paper in Natsu's hands

"_Failures. All failures. Dispose of them."_

* * *

"Well, well, well. Looks like some naughty little fairies are digging around where they shouldn't be; I think we need to teach them a lesson about meddling in

other people's business." A deep, sarcastic voice came up behind them and the tunnel was flooded with light, almost as if someone had flipped a switch. "Who

the hell are you?" Boldly stepping forward, Natsu came face to face with the mysterious man. He was tall and extremely pale with a tuft of dark red hair and

black eyes, bulging muscles beneath a spike covered leather jacket and tight leather pants. "My name is Calcator, and I will crush you weak maggots." **Shadow**

** Orochi!** Multiple snakes came shooting through the air, slamming into Natsu and Lisanna. "Natsu!" **Requip: Flight Armor!** Changing into a revealing cheetah

patterned armor, Erza drew two thin daggers and evaded Calcator's attacks. "Oh my, fast, are we?" **Shadow Pull! **A large shadow hand appeared under Gray

and Cana, dragging them into the ground. **Ice Make: Geyser!** Calcator was thrown back by a sharp chunk of ice jutting out by his feet, wiping a dribble of

blood from his mouth, he stood back up and burst out laughing "So this is the power of the so-called Fairy Tail? Ha! I WILL CRUSH YOU!" **Knuckle Shadow!**

Multiple shadow fists barreled into Gray, sending him crashing against the wall with a sickening crack. Widening her eyes at how easily he knocked out half the

team, Cana drew out a deck of cards and threw one at his feet. **The Prayer's Fountain!** Beams of water from all directions erupted from under him and sent

Calcator spiraling onto the floor. To her surprise, he got back up with ease and appeared not the slightest bit harmed. "Is that the best you people can do?"

**Shadow Form!** Calcator melted away and reappeared behind Cana, harshly clamping down on her arm. "Body restriction magic?" Just what does he have up

his sleeve, thought Erza. With a heavy punch, Calcator caused Cana to crumple like a piece of paper, lying on the floor unmoving. **Requip: Morning Star Armor!**

"I think a little light should do the trick for a shadow manipulator like you!" **Photon Slicer! **Using her two sabers, Erza fired a blast of energy at Calcator. "Not

bad, not bad at all. That actually hurt, I guess you aren't called Titania for nothing." Smirking, Calcator emerged looking amused. Frustrated, Erza charged in

and swung her two, one-handed swords at his chest. **Shadow Guard!** Calcator blocked her offense like it was nothing and reached out, grabbing her throat

with a strong hand. Waves of gold energy began flowing from Erza to his arm, Calcator laughed maniacally as he absorbed her magic. Erza shrieked in pain

while her armor broke and faded away and all the strength was drained from her body. Regaining consciousness, Natsu opened his eyes to see all his friends

lying still on the ground and Calcator sucking up all of Erza's magic energy. Anger, anger and hatred filled his head and a red flame expanded from his body.

"YOU. HURT. MY. FRIENDS!" Calcator simply sneered at Natsu and sent a shadow fist at him. His eyes widened as the shadow was melted when it hit Natsu's

flame. "I will make you pay for what you've done!" **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!** Natsu pushed off and smacked Calcator in the face with a punch. Not pausing for a

second, he continued hitting and delivering punch after punch to his gut. All the training paid off and Natsu jumped from wall to wall, dodging every shadow

Calcator threw. Gathering up as much energy as he could, Natsu summoned an immense fireball and set his target. "STOP! Or I will crush your pretty little

girlfriend's neck!" Calcator had his fist around Erza's neck, squeezing it just tight enough to snap it with a little more force. But Natsu couldn't stop, all he could

think about was how that jackass hurt everyone, hurt Erza. His fire ball was growing in size with his rage, it was to the point where it would kill Calcator in a

second. "I said stop!" Calcator tightened his grip, a small cracking sound could be heard "S-STOP or she will die with me!" Natsu got ready to hurl the fireball,

allowing the last dregs of his power to enter it and feed the flames. Aiming at Calcator's head, Natsu began to release the fireball from his grip. "NATSU NO!"

Gray went behind him and drove an ice spike through Natsu's back, catching him as he collapsed. He went to Calcator and shoved him off Erza, driving him into

the wall. Soon, everyone else began to wake up and stumble to their feet. "Woah, what happened here?" asked Lisanna while leaning against a rock from

support. "Long story short Natsu lost control so I knocked him out and we defeated Calcator. Wendy, are you feeling well enough to heal our wounds? We

need to leave this pit and set up camp somewhere." Wendy nodded and walked around, using her sky dragonslayer powers to heal the others. **Animal Soul:**

** Half Bird!** "I'll take us out of here one by one through the trapdoor Natsu came in by, since our entrance is sealed shut." Lisanna opened the trapdoor with her

beak and took everyone out. Gray and Cana set up a make shift tent to spend the night in while Lisanna dragged the unconscious Natsu and Erza onto mats;

Wendy resumed healing until she fainted, feeling bad about not helping during the fight. "It's alright Wendy, you've done enough." Lisanna flashed Wendy a

grateful smile and lied down next to her, instantly falling asleep. The next morning, once everyone was awake the teams split up again to resume their quest.


	6. Chapter 5

"Ready?" Gajeel and Levy nodded, diving into the water after Juvia. The crystal clear ocean was quite beautiful, with schools of fish swimming by and colorful

coral reefs peeking out from the depths of the sea. Unfortunately, this scene was ruined by a colossal blob of an unnaturally spiked octopus speeding

ungracefully into an underwater cavern. The three followed and found that the cavern was dry, protected by walls of rock and coral that had grown naturally

over time to form a shelter-like structure. Pulling off Juvia's water bubble, Gajeel sniffed the air and grimaced "It smells bad, like evil things." The octopus was

nowhere to be seen, an uneasy feeling of being watched settled over the group as they navigated through the 'smelly' cavern. Hoping to strike up a

conversation to fill the awkward silence and (hopefully) get Gajeel to make some friends, Juvia commenced speaking "Levy, did you know that Gajeel simply

adores the book 'Heart of Steel'? I remember seeing it your room, do you by any chance like it too?" Turning his head, Gajeel gave Juvia a 'what the hell did you

just do' look and tried his best to remain nonchalant. "Oh my god YES! That is one of my favorite books! Who do you think Yota will end up with? I personally

think it's going to be Jun! But then again, that might just because she's my favorite character! I can't believe you like that series, I thought no one did but now

someone else does and finally I can talk about it with another person. Do you remember when Togo died? That scene absolutely broke my heart, poor Takumi!

I've been reading this series since, like, the day it came out; in fact I got my first copy signed by the author! I can show it to you sometime after we get back,

then we can watch the movie! Can you believe they are starting a movie trilogy? I am so excited!" Levy's blabbering was cut short when she ran into a glass

wall. Looking up in confusion, she realized that it was a mirror and she was surrounded by them. "Guys? Where are you?" Frantically pounding on the mirrors,

Levy began to panic when she sensed a presence behind her. "Thank goodness, it's just you guys. I was beginning to wor-" Her expression quickly morphed

into fright when she saw the person behind her, actually it wasn't a person. Levy turned around to see a face displayed on several of the mirrors; well

technically the face was covered by a white mask so you couldn't really tell. "Hello fairies, my name is Haku. I hope you all are up for a little game, the master

demands that you be kept away from the secrets beyond this point for now. Each one of you is trapped in a dome of mirrors and the only way to leave is to get

rid of your reflection from ALL of them without using magic or touching them in any sort of way with anything. If you do, then it's immediate disqualification.

Have fun and remember: don't touch the mirrors!" The face vanished and was replaced by several reflections from different angles. Levy tried turning her body

this way and that, attempting to remove her image from the mirrors; however, nothing worked and she found herself at a major conundrum. Forgetting the rule

about magic, Juvia turned into a puddle of water and happily saw her leave the mirror only to be given a thorough electric shock. She screamed and fell onto

her hands and knees, fighting to remain conscious as an excruciating pain arched through her entire body. The mirrors around Juvia went away and she was

thrown out of the cavern by an invisible force. Sitting up, Juvia found that she could no longer enter it anymore, as if there was a barrier between them. "Juvia!

I heard screaming, are you alright? Fuck this, I'm just going to smash all these damned mirrors at once." Balling up his fists, Gajeel sent a powerful punch

towards a mirror and smirked as it cracked under his touch. His smirk was wiped off when he was electrocuted and tossed outside, landing right next to Juvia.

"Well shit, now we're both locked out. It's up to you now, Levy!" Gajeel's encouraging words caused Levy's heart to skip a beat; she then shook her head and

focused on finding a solution to the problem. Think, Levy; how can you make your reflections disappear? Levy carefully examined the dome, there were mirrors

reaching the ground with no gaps so simply lying down or moving out of the way was not an option. Growling in frustration, Levy picked up a thin, flat rock and

held it up to her face, getting ready to chuck it at ground near the mirror. Maybe if she did it hard enough the ground would vibrate and cause to mirrors to

shake, highly unlikely but at this point she might as well try everything. To her surprise, the mirrors disappeared before she could move her arms and in front of

her stood Haku. "Congratulations, you win. By covering your face with a rock, it no longer became _your _reflection; it became the rock's reflection and your

reflection. Seems stupid but it always stumps people." "So does this mean I can advance further into the cavern?" Haku got into an offensive stance and pulled

out a handful of needles "Why of course, if you can defeat me." **Solid Script: Fire!** The word 'fire' materialized and ignited with flames, "Prepare to be

incinerated!" Calmly ducking beneath the word with inhuman speed, Haku sliced into Levy's right leg with two needles, paralyzing it. Ignoring the numbness

and stinging pain, Levy winced and launched another spell. **Solid Script: Hole!** A massive crater opened beneath Haku, but she (or he?) reacted instantly and

sprung out of the way, throwing two more needles at Levy's left shoulder. Panting and cringing, Levy stumbled back a few steps and struggled to stay

balanced. **Solid Script: Oil!** A torrent of sticky oil flooded the room and Haku was forced to cling onto the roof to avoid getting caught. Annoyed, she propelled

several needles towards Levy from all directions. **Solid Script: Guard!** The barrier deflected most of the needles, but one particularly sharp needle managed to

penetrate Levy's neck before she could block it. Right away, she lost feeling in her entire body and toppled onto the ground unable to move. Laughing, Haku

vaulted over and lifted the petite girl up with one hand, then hurled her out of the cavern. Levy felt her cheeks grow pink as she noticed that she had landed

on Gajeel's chest, the latter was also blushing slightly. Juvia rushed over and probed one of the needles, afraid to pull it out "What if I accidently damage

Levy's nerves when I take out the needle? Juvia doesn't want to risk it." Grunting, Gajeel flung Levy over his shoulder "I guess I'll just have to carry pipsqueak

around then." **Water Bubbles!** "We might as well head towards the island we were _supposed_ to go to, Juvia is sorry that she insisted on following the

octopus." The team went back into the water and swam up to the surface, well Gajeel doing a very awkward paddle to keep Levy from falling off, to find that

the island was gone. "What. the. hell?! Where did the island that was _just _there go?!" Gajeel was fuming with rage, now they were stranded without a boat or

an island! "Juvia's nautical senses tell her that they are far away from where they started, but she can see a bird which means there is land nearby." The

seagull led them to the harbor of Magnolia Town, where Fairy Tail was located. Everyone's jaw dropped to the ground in shock, what on earth were they going

to tell the master?!

* * *

"Umm so that's what happened…" Juvia flashed an extremely guilty smile as she faced Makarov, nervousness overtaking her body. He was silent for a long

time, which could either mean an explosion or flat out disappointment. "First things first, take Levy to the infirmary so Porlyusica can safely remove the

needles." Unsure of what to think, Juvia and Gajeel went over and placed Levy on a bed, all three of them sat quietly waiting for the master to speak. "I am not

mad at you, but something in your story interests me. You said that Haku claimed his/her 'master' did not want you to find out something in the cavern, I am

wondering who that person is and what that 'secret' is." Master Makarov paced back and forth, this was one of the most mysterious and confusing things he

had every dealt with.

* * *

"Damn that stupid ass goat, when I get my hands on him!" Laxus violently blew apart all the rocks in their way with a strong current of lightning. "Now, now,

it's just a harmless little goat." Mirajane lightly touched his arm, attempting to pacify the pissed off Laxus. "What do you mean harmless?! Did you see the way

that goat was smiling, it looked like some wicked psychopath!" "Spitting at a man's hair is NOT man!" "Please calm down, this is ruining bonding time." Laxus,

Elfman, and Mirajane bickered back and forth while scaling the mountain side; it was not long before they reached to top. Sitting at the top of the mountain

was an elaborate stone door with ancient runes and markings all around the edges. "_Aperite portam tenebris lumen verbis implendo_" Mirajane read the words

slowly, not recognizing the language. "If only Levy were here, she could probably decipher its meaning!" Drawing out a notepad, Laxus quickly jotted down the

phrase and stuck it in his coat while Elfman tried to open the door with brute force. **Beast Arm: Iron Bull!** **Satan Soul! Raging Bolt! **The door remained

completely unscathed, much to their displeasure. "This is not man!" "What a complete waste of time." "Come on, let's not give up hope!" After an hour of trying

and failing, the team eventually gave up and headed back to the guild to tell Makarov of their findings.

* * *

"Wait, Levy's here?" Makarov sighed and brought them to the infirmary, "It's a long story that we will exchange later." "See if you can read this, runt." Laxus

dug out his notepad and handed it to Levy. "Oh this is just Latin, I can read it fine. It says 'open the gate by filling the light of words with darkness'." Mirajane

pondered what that meant, was it a riddle or instruction? Thinking back to the runes engraved around the door, she leapt out of her chair as she grasped what

it meant, "Fill the words with darkness, I need to use my magic on the _runes_ not the door itself!"

* * *

Apprehensive, Mirajane shot a ray of darkness at the markings around the door, watching in awe as they turned black and faded, successfully opening the

entrance. Striding in, she was horrified to see rows of filthy, blood stained cages; some contained live animals while others housed rotting skeletons and dead

creatures. "My, my. You weren't supposed to see that, now I have no choice but to eliminate you scum" A giant, furry gorilla with a human face stepped out

from behind one of the cages holding a thick whip. Laxus and Elfman stepped forward, ready to fight. **Beast Soul: Lizardman! Satan Soul: Halphas! Lightning**

** Storm!** Laxus generated a large ball of lightning and shot it at the gorillaman, who held up his burly forearms to block the attack. "Hmph, you people are a

pain." Laxus stared, no one could possibly be fine from a blast like that. "FIGHTING IS MAN!" Elfman charged in and sent a right hook at his face; the gorilla

instinctively held up a hand to intercept it, Elfman struggled against his insanely strong grip with frustration. Drawing out her claws, Mirajane flew in from the

left and slashed at his chest, only to shriek when the impact broke the CLAWS. "What the hell is this thing made of?!" **Raging Bolt!** The gorilla went back a few

steps from the lighting bolt but otherwise appeared unharmed. With a flick of his wrist, the heavy whip struck Elfman in the stomach and knocked out the air

from his lungs, forcing Elfman to step away. "Elfman!" Mirajane pounced onto the gorilla's back and rammed an orb of darkness straight to his head.

"GGGRRRRRR!" The whip wrapped around Mirajane's waist and the gorilla cast her across the room and against one of the cages. Some sort of demonic, rabid

wolf in the cage spurted over to her and clamped down on Mirajane's ankle, growling and shaking. "Don't touch Nee-chan!" Rushing over, Elfman ripped her

away and punched the wolf in its jaw. **Lightning Flash!** "NOW!" The gorilla was blinded by the sudden flash and squinted; using this moment Elfman and

Mirajane raced in and delivered a bone-crushing roundhouse kick to the ribs. Once the light died down, they were utterly blown away to see that he was still

standing, albeit a little hunched over. "I must say, I'm impressed that you managed to land an effective hit. But unfortunately for you, I am done playing

around." **Explosion Bullet!** A beam-like bullet whisked by the Strauss siblings then exploded, knocking them both out and sending Laxus on his knees. "Damn,

looks like I have to use _that_." Rising to his feet, Laxus felt his muscles bulge, canines extend, and hard scales form around his body. **Lightning Dragon's Roar!**

The gorilla smacked into the wall, surprised at the increase of power. "Well that was rather…unexpected of you. This is going to be much more fun, I haven't

had a real battle in years." "Great, because it's going to be your last!" **Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist! **Laxus crashed a vast, high-speed lighting fist into

the gorilla, exploding on impact. The gorilla slowly got back up, choking out blood as the smoke cleared. "IT IS SO MUCH FUN!" **Piercing Bullet! **A ray pierced

through Laxus' scales and he collapsed in pain, writhing in a pool of blood. "YOU ARE A FOOL! I ALWAYS WIN!" Again and again, the gorilla slammed his fists

into Laxus. "URUSE!" Shoving him off, Laxus felt the electricity practically jumping off his body. The gorilla's eyes widened "W-what? You can still stand?!" "HELL

YEAH MOTHERFUCKER!" **Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd! **Laxus formed a lightning spear and drove it deep into the gorilla's chest, putting him to

sleep. For good. Fairy Tail didn't kill but Laxus sure as hell didn't give a fuck about their rules, the gorilla dude pissed him off.


End file.
